‘Visual’ acuity of the congenitally blind using visual-to-auditory sensory substitution

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Ella Striem-Amit ◽  
Miriam Guendelman ◽  
Amir Amedi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Sensory Substitution ◽  
World Health ◽  
Visual Rehabilitation ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Potential Capacity ◽  
Congenitally Blind ◽  
Neuroimaging Study ◽  
Health Organization

Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs) convey visual information through sounds or touch, thus theoretically enabling a form of visual rehabilitation in the blind. However, for clinical use, these devices must provide fine-detailed visual information which was not shown yet for this or other means of visual restoration. To test the possible functional acuity conveyed by such devices, we used the Snellen acuity test conveyed through a high-resolution visual-to-auditory SSD (The vOICe). We show that congenitally fully blind adults can exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) blindness acuity threshold using SSDs, reaching the highest acuity reported yet with any visual rehabilitation approach. Preliminary findings of a neuroimaging study of a similar reading task using SSDs suggest the specific involvement of the congenitally blind visual cortex in processing sights-from-sounds. These results demonstrate the potential capacity of SSDs as inexpensive, non-invasive visual rehabilitation aids, as well as their advantage in charting the retention of functional properties of the visual cortex of the blind.

scholarly journals Changes in thalamocortical connectivity as a potential mechanism of cross-modal plasticity in congenitally blind individuals

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theo Marins ◽  
Maite Russo ◽  
Erika Rodrigues ◽  
jorge Moll ◽  
Daniel Felix ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Cortical Thickness ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Congenitally Blind ◽  
Blind Individuals ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

ABSTRACTEvidence of cross-modal plasticity in blind individuals has been reported over the past decades showing that non-visual information is carried and processed by classical “visual” brain structures. This feature of the blind brain makes it a pivotal model to explore the limits and mechanisms of brain plasticity. However, despite recent efforts, the structural underpinnings that could explain cross-modal plasticity in congenitally blind individuals remain unclear. Using advanced neuroimaging techniques, we mapped the thalamocortical connectivity and assessed cortical thickness and integrity of white matter of congenitally blind individuals and sighted controls to test the hypothesis that aberrant thalamocortical pattern of connectivity can pave the way for cross-modal plasticity. We described a direct occipital takeover by the temporal projections from the thalamus, which would carry non-visual information (e.g. auditory) to the visual cortex in congenitally blinds. In addition, the amount of thalamo-occipital connectivity correlated with the cortical thickness of primary visual cortex (V1), supporting a probably common (or related) reorganization phenomena. Our results suggest that aberrant thalamocortical connectivity as one possible mechanism of cross-modal plasticity in blinds, with potential impact on cortical thickness of V1.SIGNIFICANT STATEMENTCongenitally blind individuals often develop greater abilities on spared sensory modalities, such as increased acuity in auditory discrimination and voice recognition, when compared to sighted controls. These functional gains have been shown to rely on ‘visual’ cortical areas of the blind brain, characterizing the phenomenon of cross-modal plasticity. However, its anatomical underpinnings in humans have been unsuccessfully pursued for decades. Recent advances of non-invasive neuroimaging techniques allowed us to test the hypothesis of abnormal thalamocortical connectivity in congenitally blinds. Our results showed an expansion of the thalamic connections to the temporal cortex over those that project to the occipital cortex, which may explain, the cross-talk between the visual and auditory systems in congenitally blind individuals.

scholarly journals The Effect of Irrelevant Environmental Noise on the Performance of Visual-to-Auditory Sensory Substitution Devices Used by Blind Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Galit Buchs ◽  
Benedetta Heimler ◽  
Amir Amedi
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Sensory Substitution ◽  
Auditory Modality ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Visual Rehabilitation ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
Significant Performance ◽  
Audio Information

Abstract Visual-to-auditory Sensory Substitution Devices (SSDs) are a family of non-invasive devices for visual rehabilitation aiming at conveying whole-scene visual information through the intact auditory modality. Although proven effective in lab environments, the use of SSDs has yet to be systematically tested in real-life situations. To start filling this gap, in the present work we tested the ability of expert SSD users to filter out irrelevant background noise while focusing on the relevant audio information. Specifically, nine blind expert users of the EyeMusic visual-to-auditory SSD performed a series of identification tasks via SSDs (i.e., shape, color, and conjunction of the two features). Their performance was compared in two separate conditions: silent baseline, and with irrelevant background sounds from real-life situations, using the same stimuli in a pseudo-random balanced design. Although the participants described the background noise as disturbing, no significant performance differences emerged between the two conditions (i.e., noisy; silent) for any of the tasks. In the conjunction task (shape and color) we found a non-significant trend for a disturbing effect of the background noise on performance. These findings suggest that visual-to-auditory SSDs can indeed be successfully used in noisy environments and that users can still focus on relevant auditory information while inhibiting irrelevant sounds. Our findings take a step towards the actual use of SSDs in real-life situations while potentially impacting rehabilitation of sensory deprived individuals.

scholarly journals Case Report: Multifocal non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features presenting in a female child

F1000Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 645
Author(s):  
Asmaa Gaber Abdou ◽  
Hayam Aiad ◽  
Nancy Asaad
Keyword(s):  
Present Report ◽  
Female Child ◽  
Nodal Metastasis ◽  
Thyroid Neoplasm ◽  
World Health ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Paediatric Age ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Nuclear Features

Non-invasive follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary-like nuclear features (NIFTP) was introduced as a separate entity by the World Health Organization in 2017 with strict inclusion and exclusion criteria.  Most NIFTP cases have been reported in adults and few cases have been diagnosed in children. Here, we present a classic case of NIFTP affecting a 10-year old female child. We also review previous reports of NIFTP in children regarding size, focality, nodal metastasis, recurrence, type of operation and follow-up data. The present report adds a new case of NIFTP in the paediatric age group characterized by multifocality, absence of nodal invasion and indolent course until last follow-up, recommending less aggressive management.

scholarly journals Design and Dimensional Measurement of Interdigital Sensor for Blood Glucose Measurement through Non-Invasive Method

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 6437-6441
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Monitoring ◽  
Blood Glucose Measurement ◽  
World Health ◽  
Glucose Measurement ◽  
Noninvasive Technique ◽  
Glucose Levels ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Reduced Physical Activity ◽  
Invasive Method ◽  
Health Organization

Diabetes has shown to be a chronic disease world over, mainly caused due to reduced physical activity and increased obesity. World health organization statistics show diabetes as a leading cause of disability universally. To avoid extreme medical conditions of subjects, regular monitoring of their glucose levels has been suggested. The most common method that has been in use is the pinprick method for glucose monitoring which carries the risk of contamination as well as irritation. One possible approach called noninvasive technique can be adopted to avoid this major concern. This paper presents designing Inter-Digital-Sensor (IDS) for non-invasive sensing of the glucose level. The sensor-based chip once mounted onto the upper arm or pinkie finger of diabetes subject, is able to sense different glucose levels concentration as impedance plots. A set of several simulation results has been obtained using COMSOL for getting optimized dimensions of the sensor digits. This research has presented the generation of an electric field and intensity by using electrode of known length with element spacing varying from 250µm to 600µm developed over 15mm x 20mm sensor area. An ID of 475µm width spacing with ten (10) digits producing 2.33 pF of capacitance value with impedance resonating at 13 GHz of frequency is reported in this paper

The 2004 WHO Classification of Non-Invasive Papillary Neoplasms of the Urinary Bladder (Also Referred to as WHO(2004)/ISUP)

2005 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-228
Author(s):  
R. Mazzucchelli ◽  
R. Montironi ◽  
A. López Beltran ◽  
A.V. Bono
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Bladder ◽  
Clinical Studies ◽  
Who Classification ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
World Health ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Risk Potential

The consistent use of the 2004 World Health Organization (WHO) classification of non-invasive urothelial papillary tumors should result in the uniform diagnosis of tumors diagnosis, stratified according to risk potential, and will facilitate comparative clinical studies, the incorporation of molecular data and the identification of aggressive, genetically unstable neoplasms. Until the 2004 WHO system is fully validated from the clinically and prognostically, point of view, tumors should be graded according to both the 2004 WHO scheme and the 1973 WHO system.

scholarly journals How to Correctly Detect Face-Masks for COVID-19 from Visual Information?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2070
Author(s):  
Borut Batagelj ◽  
Peter Peer ◽  
Vitomir Štruc ◽  
Simon Dobrišek
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
World Health ◽  
Detection Techniques ◽  
Face Images ◽  
The World ◽  
Public Behavior ◽  
Face Datasets ◽  
Health Organization

The new Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has seriously affected the world. By the end of November 2020, the global number of new coronavirus cases had already exceeded 60 million and the number of deaths 1,410,378 according to information from the World Health Organization (WHO). To limit the spread of the disease, mandatory face-mask rules are now becoming common in public settings around the world. Additionally, many public service providers require customers to wear face-masks in accordance with predefined rules (e.g., covering both mouth and nose) when using public services. These developments inspired research into automatic (computer-vision-based) techniques for face-mask detection that can help monitor public behavior and contribute towards constraining the COVID-19 pandemic. Although existing research in this area resulted in efficient techniques for face-mask detection, these usually operate under the assumption that modern face detectors provide perfect detection performance (even for masked faces) and that the main goal of the techniques is to detect the presence of face-masks only. In this study, we revisit these common assumptions and explore the following research questions: (i) How well do existing face detectors perform with masked-face images? (ii) Is it possible to detect a proper (regulation-compliant) placement of facial masks? and (iii) How useful are existing face-mask detection techniques for monitoring applications during the COVID-19 pandemic? To answer these and related questions we conduct a comprehensive experimental evaluation of several recent face detectors for their performance with masked-face images. Furthermore, we investigate the usefulness of multiple off-the-shelf deep-learning models for recognizing correct face-mask placement. Finally, we design a complete pipeline for recognizing whether face-masks are worn correctly or not and compare the performance of the pipeline with standard face-mask detection models from the literature. To facilitate the study, we compile a large dataset of facial images from the publicly available MAFA and Wider Face datasets and annotate it with compliant and non-compliant labels. The annotation dataset, called Face-Mask-Label Dataset (FMLD), is made publicly available to the research community.

scholarly journals Naturalistic audio-movies reveal common spatial organization across “visual” cortices of different blind individuals

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Musz ◽  
Rita Loiotile ◽  
Janice Chen ◽  
Marina Bedny
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Spatial Activity ◽  
Pattern Similarity ◽  
Congenitally Blind ◽  
Visual Cortices ◽  
Blind Individuals

AbstractOccipital cortices of different sighted people contain analogous maps of visual information (e.g., foveal vs. peripheral space). In congenital blindness, “visual” cortices enhance responses to nonvisual stimuli. Do deafferented visual cortices of different blind people represent common informational maps? We leverage a naturalistic stimulus paradigm and inter-subject pattern similarity analysis to address this question. Blindfolded sighted (S, n=22) and congenitally blind (CB, n=22) participants listened to three auditory excerpts from movies; a naturalistic spoken narrative; and matched degraded auditory stimuli (i.e., shuffled sentences and backwards speech) while undergoing fMRI scanning. In a parcel-based whole brain analysis, we measured the spatial activity patterns evoked by each unique, ten-second segment of each auditory clip. We then compared each subject’s spatial pattern to that of all other subjects in the same group (CB or S) within and across segments. In both blind and sighted groups, segments of meaningful auditory stimuli produced distinctive patterns of activity that were shared across individuals. Crucially, only in the CB group, this segment-specific, cross-subject pattern similarity effect emerged in visual cortex, but only for meaningful naturalistic stimuli and not backwards speech. These results suggest that spatial activity patterns within deafferented visual cortices encode meaningful, segment-level information contained in naturalistic auditory stimuli, and that these representations are spatially organized in a similar fashion across blind individuals.Significance StatementRecent neuroimaging studies show that the so-called “visual” cortices activate during non-visual tasks in people who are born blind. Do the visual cortices of people who are born blind develop similar representational maps? While congenitally blind individuals listened to naturalistic auditory stimuli (i.e., sound clips from movies), distinct timepoints within each stimulus elicited unique spatial activity patterns in visual cortex, and these patterns were shared across different people. These findings suggest that in blindness, the visual cortices encode meaningful information embedded in naturalistic auditory signals in a spatially distributed manner, and that a common representational map can emerge in visual cortex independent of visual experience.

scholarly journals Metrology for intraocular pressure measurements

ACTA IMEKO ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 353
Author(s):  
D. Prazak ◽  
R. Ziolkowski ◽  
D. Rosu ◽  
M. Schiebl ◽  
J. Rybar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Intraocular Pressure ◽  
National Level ◽  
World Health ◽  
Pressure Measurements ◽  
Central European ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Central European Region ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization reports glaucoma as the second leading cause of blindness and the leading cause of irreversible blindness. Intraocular hypertension is the most relevant and only treatable risk factor for the disease. Non-invasive intraocular-pressure (IOP) measurements, carried out using eye tonometers, are used to screen for the intraocular hypertension. A correct measurement of the IOP is essential in the prevention and the fight against glaucoma. The authors present their work towards ensuring on one side the accuracy of IOP measurements for contact and non-contact tonometers in the Central European region and obtaining a harmonization of the requirements for IOP metrology at national level.

scholarly journals Acute myocarditis in children: problems of diagnosis and treatment

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-72
Author(s):  
Elena V. Pshenichnaya ◽  
Alexandra P. Dudchak ◽  
Nadezhda A. Usenko ◽  
Viktoriya V. Sosna
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Arrhythmias ◽  
Acute Myocarditis ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Clinical Manifestations ◽  
World Health ◽  
Routine Practice ◽  
Ventricular Extrasystole ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Health Organization

Acute myocarditis by the World Health Organization is an inflammatory disease of the heart muscle, confirmed by histologically, immunologically and immunohistochemically. The diagnosis of acute myocarditis in children remains open due to the presence of a number of reasons. First of all, it is difficult to diagnose myocarditis in children due to the variety of clinical manifestations and the presence of nonspecific symptoms of the disease. What matters is the lack of accessibility in the routine practice of a doctor of certain research methods and a sharp limitation in the use of endomyocardial biopsy. The search for differential diagnostic algorithms of the disease continues. According to modern literature, much attention is paid to non-invasive methods for the diagnosis of acute myocarditis in children. The course of acute myocarditis can be complicated by life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias: ventricular extrasystole, lengthening of the corrected QT interval, atrioventricular block. The appearance of cardiac arrhythmias increases the risk of sudden cardiac death. Recommendations for the treatment of myocardium in children often undergo changes due to the small number of multicenter and controlled studies in the pediatric population. The article provides an overview of modern approaches to the treatment of acute myocarditis in children: the use of antiviral drugs, intravenous immunoglobulin, immunosuppressive therapy, especially the treatment of heart failure in acute myocarditis in children.

scholarly journals Role of Saliva as a Viable Bio Sample for COVID-19 Detection

BioMedica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (2S) ◽  
pp. 97-99
Author(s):  
Rabia Anjum
Keyword(s):  
Immune Responses ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Molecular Assay ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Health Organization

<p>Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) has been promptly spreading to different countries becoming a global pandemic, to the reports of the World Health Organization (WHO). Sufficient immune responses over whelming the virus in the first or second phase without immune over-reaction can be seen in patients with competent immune functions and no obvious risk factors like old age, co-morbidities, etc. There is high sensitivity and specificity of saliva specimens in detecting respiratory viruses by an automated multiplex molecular assay while comparing with those of nasopharyngeal aspirate. The beneficial role of saliva as a quick and non-invasive diagnostic bio sample has been established.</p>

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